John Gibb was a Scottish civil engineer and contractor whose work included the construction of harbours, bridges, roads, lighthouses, and railways in the United Kingdom, primarily in Scotland.
Background
His father was William Gibb (1736-1791), contractor. And his son Alexander Gibb (1804-1867) was a Civil Engineer. John Gibb was baptised on 13 October 1776, the youngest son of William Gibb (1736-1791) of Kirkcows, near Falkirk, Scotland, a contractor.
Career
From 1805 he was employed under John Rennie on the harbour at Greenock for four years. On the works at Greenock, his abilities brought him to the notice of Thomas Telford, who installed him as resident engineer for harbour works at Aberdeen, with a salary of £250 p.a. At Aberdeen, he spent six years extending and fortifying the harbour, repairing the south pier, constructing a breakwater and north pier, as well as dock walls for new docks.
He also was the first to use a steam dredger in Scotland, employed on the works.
In 1817, during a lull in the works he resigned his position. Whilst working for Telford Gibb was encountered by the poet Robert Southey, then touring Scotland, who described him as ". that obliging, good-natured, useful and skilful man, Mr Gibb.".
Gibb also became involved in the quarrying and supply of aberdeen granite, in association with the company of Messrs. Jolliffe and Banks, as well as surveying the River Dee at Chester, and worked on a turnpike road from Glasgow to Carlisle.
In 1823 he began employment under Robert Stevenson on the construction of lighthouses, and from 1827 to 1829 worked under the Commissioners of Highland Roads and Bridges.
His work included the construction of the Don bridge near Aberdeen. In 1829, he returned to works under Telford, and was involved in the construction of the Wet dock at Aberdeen, of the Dean Bridge in Edinburgh and, in 1835, the Glasgow Bridge. In 1836, under Thomas Elliot Harrison he was contracted for the construction of the Victoria bridge.
His last major contract was works on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway (built c1840), including the construction of the Almond Valley viaduct, and the Winchburgh Tunnel, designed by noted Scottish railway engineer John Miller.
An error in his tender estimate for the cost of the viaduct led to his incurring a loss of £40,000on a construction cost of £130,000. Katherine Gibb died on 20 February 1845.
John Gibb died on 3 December 1850. Legacy
After his father"s death, Alexander continued to work as a Civil Engineer and in the quarrying of granite in Aberdeen.